Hold up! While the last semester is over, and now you can take some time to recharge, it's wise to use this time to prepare for next semester as well. This prep needn't take a lot of time and energy! Most prep you can do from your computer during a lunch break.
Here's how to utilize that time for the maximum benefit for next semester:
Rent your textbooks for next semester.
Once you get your schedule, check to see which books your professor requires. My college allows me to check for these books online, and provides purchasing options.
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| Finding textbooks online is a snap! Check your college's website for a textbook link, and then search the section numbers for your class's required textbooks. |
But I never buy the books from my school...I nab those ISBN numbers and take them over to Amazon because the prices are cheaper! I once got a textbook for $0.01!
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| This is a $14.99 savings! I purchased this book and got the chore out of the way. Always check around for cheaper prices on required books. Sometimes, like this book, the shipping costs more than the book itself (that's usually a good thing)! |
Buy new school supplies.
I love this time because I get new pens and new notebooks. There's no need to go all out, but be sure to replenish printer cartridges and buy more printer paper. Create a Dropbox account if you don't have one, which I find as one of my most relied upon resources for backing up and transferring files (i.e. if I have a presentation, it's easier to retrieve from Dropbox than search for a USB drive).
Check out my board: Best School Supplies for 30 Somethings.
Organize last semester's mess, if there is one.
As much as I am a proponent for staying organized, by the time the semester closes out, my desk, binder, tote bag, and even sometimes my car are a hot mess. I think my organizational system died this semester right after midterms! I have a huge stack of unorganized papers on my desk, my binder is...somewhere, and my tote bag has a nice padding of receipts at the bottom. Yikes!
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| This was even after I had sorted some papers! My desk is still a mess but I am slowly making a dent. I am going to have to re-evaluate my in-semester system! |
I use Winter Break to take everything out of folders, piles, and binders and organize it by class. Along with the notebook I used to take notes for each class, I put everything in a folder and file it away. This way I can retrieve things easily in the future.
Reread notes.
This may be a habit only I do, but I recommend to anyone. Reread your notes. You'll be surprised at how much you forget between semesters. Sometimes, we are in such a hurry to just get through class that we really don't commit the information to long term memory. Don't think so? Quick! Recall what vocab words you learned at the beginning of last semester!
You probably had to think about it for a bit. But that's okay! That's why note taking - and note keeping - is really important. Reread those notes, especially for prerequisite classes that you had to take in Fall to prep for a Spring class.
Evaluate your performance for Fall, and research how you can make Spring better.
No one is perfect and everyone can use improvement. Take stock of how your Fall semester went down. What part were you not happy about? Here's some categories to consider:
- Organization system - did it hold up for you? For me, it failed. I will be re-evaluating my single binder, separate notebook system.
- Group projects - how did they work out? Did you do your part? Did others do their part? If you struggled, you may have to plan your time better. If others struggled, you may have to plan to take a leadership role in future group projects.
- Essays - Did your writing skills make the grade? Did you miss points because of formatting, grammar, lack of required components, or you completely did the assignment wrong? You may want to bone up on your writing skills by either taking an online workshop, research college essay writing, or check out a book on the subject. Now would be a great time to hire a tutor!
- Assignments - Did you do all your assignments or did you forget a few? You may want to learn to plan your time better. Making time for all your assignments - and even doing a few ahead of time - may save your butt come Spring semester!
- Presentations - How did yours go? Do you feel that other people have more polished presentations? Do you have stage jitters? Was your presentation rushed? You may want to check out a Udemy Powerpoint course, or plan to take a Speech class next semester. And...be sure to plan ahead for your assignment!
- Test taking - Did you bomb a test? Did you think you were prepared but it turned out you really weren't? Hire a tutor to go over note-taking and studying skills. Make a resolution to pay better attention during class, to ask questions, and to read assigned reading.
- ...and more! If you feel there is anything else, run a Pinterest search for how to solve the issue. Chances are someone has written about what you're going through, and has a solution to offer!
Oh boy. I can already hear the disagreement on this one. But it's the holidays! I have stuff to do! Cookies to bake! Peppermint cocoa to drink! Yes, you do. As do I. But that doesn't mean you can't get started early! But you don't have to if you don't want to.
I try to get started early just because I know I can procrastinate when I really don't want to do something. I can be an obdurate little 9 year old in a 35 year old's body, trust me. Knowing this about myself, I plan ahead.
So when I got my pair of penny-a-piece textbooks last week, I started reading one of them. I get my Christmas cookies, and I get my peppermint hot cocoa, don my fuzzy sock-slippers and my cat's favorite blankie, curl up with said cat and said textbook, and go to town. It really helps that all my distractions are gone too; I finished Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (OMG), Walking Dead is on hiatus (at least it has been since after the first episode, am I right?), and Holiday Baking Challenge has been polished off (go Jason!).
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| Made some of my Grandma's dry AF M&M cookies in honor of her passing in Spring Semester. The key is to use Crisco and brown sugar, and mini M&Ms for more chocolate per cookie real estate. |
It may be helpful to pick a textbook of a topic that really interests you. I picked Miss America By Day because pageants always fascinated me from a psychological standpoint, and Marilyn Van Derbur's story is important. I'm already several chapters in, and I may just finish the thing off before school starts! I'm annotating as I go, but I'm not cracking out the notebook for notes. I have my limits, y'all.
I hope this list gives you some idea on how to prep. Planning ahead is really the key to success for me, as you can see. Hopefully I can make some important changes before Spring! What other ways do you prepare for the new semester?
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